General News
21 November, 2019
Train station spreads Christmas cheer
ALL aboard – the festive season has struck the Camperdown train station with decorations, a colouring-in competition and Santa photos all part of the fun.
ALL aboard – the festive season has struck the Camperdown train station with decorations, a colouring-in competition and Santa photos all part of the fun.
V/Line Camperdown team members Melissa Lukin, Wes Bramwell and Mariah Smyth have pulled out all stops to spread the Christmas cheer.
The trio has decked out the foyer and bookings office with purple and white decorations (in keeping with V/Line colours) in ‘white Christmas’ style and have set up an oversized Santa and his reindeers on the platform to greet arrivals and departures.
The group also chipped in their individual talents to create a photo board of Santa arriving on the train for the town’s youngsters.
“Kids love trains and we love seeing the kids here enjoying themselves,” Ms Lukin said.
“The photo board will add to the fun with kids and their parents able to take their own photos with Santa chugging down the track.”
As per last year, the station staff are also staging a Christmas hamper collection appeal, with items to be donated to the Camperdown St Vincent de Paul centre.
“Christmas can be a pretty expensive time for families, so we’re keen to ease that burden a little bit,” Ms Lukin said.
“Non-perishable items would be welcome, but we’re particularly keen for people to donate anything Christmassy like table decorations, bonbons, sweet treats and condiments.
“They’re the sort of items that families might go without if they’re feeling the financial strain.”
Other stations along the line will also act as collection centres as will Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station, with all goods coming to Camperdown for distribution.
Kids also have the chance to win one of three prize packs containing wooden train sets, various toys and lots of lollies.
All they have to do is pick up a colouring-in competition entry, colour it in and return it to the station by Friday, December 20. V/Line’s Warrnambool line manager will judge the best entries with the winners announced on Monday, December 23.
“It’s great to be a part of the wider community and we’d love for people to pop in and see all the decorations and join in the fun with the photo board and the colouring competition,” Ms Lukin said.
“I guess it’s our way of keeping our station a vibrant part of the Camperdown community.
“Christmas is a time for communities to come together and rally around each other and we really wanted to be a part of that.”
The station is open to the public between 6.15am and 7pm weekdays for people to view the decorations, pick up a colouring-in entry and to have their photos taken with the photo board.